By Linda C J Turner, Therapist & Advocate

There comes a moment in healing when the masks fall, the silence breaks, and the pretending ends. That moment? It’s not loud or dramatic. It’s liberating.

For years, I kept the peace. Smiled when I wanted to cry. Bit my tongue when the truth was screaming to be spoken. I convinced myself that keeping things calm was better than rocking the boat—because when someone is controlling your life, your voice, even your family… peace feels safer than freedom.

But peace built on pretense is not peace at all. It’s self-abandonment.

Now, I’ve stopped living the lie.
They can stop pretending they care.
And I? I can stop pretending I’m fine.

🌱 Because I’m not just surviving anymore—I’m finally living.

The difference? I’m surrounded by real love now. My family—my true family—have wrapped their arms around me in ways words can’t fully express. Their actions don’t come wrapped in obligation or performance. There are no conditions. No more games.

He may have kept them away in the past—with manipulation, with lies, with subtle control—but that chapter is over. The truth is out. And the truth has power.

From a psychological lens, this is what healing looks like:

• Regaining agency over your narrative.
• Breaking the cycle of appeasement and suppression.
• Choosing authenticity over artificial peace.
• Allowing real, secure attachments to flourish where fear once lived.

Because when you’ve been gaslit for long enough, even your own truth feels like a rebellion. But once you say it—own it—live it… the freedom is undeniable.

And let me tell you this:
✨ There is nothing more beautiful than being fully, unapologetically yourself in the presence of people who truly love you.

So to anyone still living the lie, still pretending for the sake of “keeping it together”—your truth is not too much. Your voice is not too loud. Your needs are not a burden. The real ones—the ones who care—will show you. Not with empty words, but with actions that speak louder than any performance ever could.

#LivingMyTruth #EmotionalFreedom #FamilyLove #HealingJourney #BreakingTheCycle #AuthenticityOverApproval #GaslightingRecovery #TherapistThoughts #RealLoveRealActions #NoMorePretending #PsychologicalHealing

— Linda C J Turner

Trauma Therapist | Neuroscience & Emotional Intelligence Practitioner | Advocate for Women’s Empowerment